Spiceworld

By October 1997, the 'Spice Girls extravaganza' was all too familiar. In the space of a year they had become a global phenomenon. In Britain alone they had sold over 7,000,000 singles and over 1,250,000 of those sales came from 'Wannabe', which was also number one in like a million countries. It truthfully was a "Spice World"! When it came to the announcement of the follow-up to "Spice", most critics were sceptical. Surely "Spiceworld" could be nothing more than a tedious repeat of "Spice". Who could have predicted that they would be utterly mistaken?!!

Following their immense success, there was now a heightened sense of flamboyance! All the traits of the first album were now even more 'in yer face'! The opening track 'Spice Up Your Life' was worthy of its predecessor 'Wannabe', with a heavier beat and bass. The melodic figure that is heard at the beginning is overtly catchy, making for instant memorable-ity. The girls sing in unison as they invite the 'people of the world' on a journey of music and dances from around the globe, Disco is at the forefront however, and songs such as 'Kung-Fu Fighting' and 'Dancing Queen' are cited in the lyric. Following screams of 'rheeeeeeeeba', 'Hi, Ci, Ya, hold tight!', the song is over and before one can catch one's breath the great pop tune 'Stop' by Watkins/Wilson has commenced. 'Never Give Up On the Good Times' actually sound like a cover of a genuine late 70s disco hit (by Gloria Gaynor or such like), even though it is an original. The penultimate track 'Viva Forever' has to be one of the best pop tracks ever conceived, and Stannard/Rowe really should be in the song-writer's Hall of Fame based on this song alone. The melody of the chorus is first-rate, and probably the best that the group sang. The Spanish guitar might pay homage to Madonna (i.e., 'La Isla Bonita'), but its presence highlights the fact that the song is about a secret holiday romance (for there are otherwise no other obvious references to Spanish music). At first, the song seems to be about a wonderful relationship in its early stages However, the last verse hints towards something quite different i.e., forbidden love. Certainly, the low-register solo singing for the final repeat of the chorus suggests something bleaker than might have been first transparent. Finally, in 'Lady is a Vamp' Spice Girls cite legends such as Elvis, Bob Marley, etc., before added themselves to the list............. and why not?

Although there was an attempt to resurrect the concept a few years later with 'Forever', most would agree that this was where the Spice tour really ended. But what a ride it was!!!!

The Spice Girls Phenomena reached new heights during 1997 - who could forget the iconic Union Jack at the Brits, conquering America, a smash-hit film, merchandise sponsorship and of course a brand new album. 1997 definitely belonged to the Spice Girls.

Firstly, I am a huge Spice Girls fan, so maybe this review will seem biased, but in truth, SPICEWORLD is genuinely a fantastic pop album. After listening to much of the pop music, as well as other genres from the 2000s, it's so amazing to go back to the music of the Spice Girls in the 90s and the realisation of just how fantastic their music was and still sounds - maybe, somewhat under-rated nowadays. Spiceworld, in my opinion, tops 'Spice' altogether.

As the group said at their height, after a lot of travelling and experiences, songs such as 'Spice Up Your Life' were influenced by some of the cultural places that they had visited. 'Spice Up Your Life' is a great opener for the album and a stormer of a track. As the girls once said - "It's an anthem for the world!" and guess what, that's true.

The ballads are outstanding on this album, who could forget 'Stop' the only Spice Single NOT to reach Number 1, nevertheless, it is probably the most well-known dance routine. 'Too Much' their 6th consecutive Number One hit and their 1997 Christmas Number One, which also tied in with the film in December, 1997. Personally, Too Much was probably their best song. The jazz, the lyrics and just the overall feel of the song always gives me goosebumps. And of course, 'Viva Forever' their Number 1 hit from Summer of 1998 - the single around the time of Geri's departure, which gives the song a new meaning and conveys much emotion.

The song also includes some hidden gems, such as 'Saturday Night Divas' which is essentially about all the men and various boyfriends who have sold stories on their relationships with the Spice Girls to the tabloid press. As Emma puts it perfectly in the lyric - "You're a twisted lover, kiss and telling on a superstar". Other hidden gems include the flamboyant, 70s feel song 'Never Give Up On The Good Times', the Pepsi song 'Move Over, 'Do It, 'Denying' and of course, the 1930s inspired Jazz song 'The Lady is A Vamp' listing all the iconic greats such as Bob Marley, Elvis Presley, The Supremes, Twiggy and Marilyn Monroe, then at the end the list themselves - 'Scary, Baby, Ginger, Posh, Sporty' and why shouldn't they - their iconic and one day they'll be legendary, themselves.

An album that gets 10/10 for me. A Fantastic album and a MUST BUY NOW!

Spice Up Your Life - 10/10
Stop - 10/10
Too Much - 10/10
Saturday Night Divas - 9/10
Never Give Up On The Good Times - 10/10
Move Over - 8/10
Do It - 9/10
Denying - 8/10
Viva Forever - 10/10
The Lady is a Vamp - 9/10

This is a fantastic pop album which shows growt in the Spice Girls!

It has gone on to become one of my fave albums of all time, asd it masters many different types of pop music such as Motown, Jazz, Techno...!

The weakest track is Saturday Night Divas which is still a very good average track, the best would either have to be Stop which masters Motown and grows on you more andf more everytime you hear it, or Viva Forever which in my opinion is one of the best songs of all time! Even my dad who hate the Spice Girls loves this track!

Spice up your Life - 4/5

Stop - 5/5

Too Much - 5/5

Saturday Night Divas - 3/5

Never Give Up on the good times - 4/5

Generation X - 4/5

Do It - 5/5

Denying - 5/5

Viva forever - 5/5

Lady is a Vamp - 5/5

Overall album rating - 5/5 (while Saturday Night Divas may be skipped once in a while - stick it in your CD player you can't help but sing along to it!)